Boiler-flue rattler.



E. T. HENDEB.'

BOILER PLUE BATTLER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13,1911.

Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

inA 55.852815 INVENTOR Edu/ard THc-ndee iran srnrns PATENT onirica.

EDWARD T. HENDEE, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BOILER-FLUE RATTLER.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD T. HENDEE, a citizen of the United States, and a 'resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boiler-Flue vRattlers; and I do hereby declare that the following' is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specication.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for cleaning or removing the scale or incrustation from boiler flues or for in a like manner removing a coating of foreign matter from other pipes or similar elongated articles, and the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an improvement in machines for this purpose of a character to hasten or facilitate the removal of the scale or coating from boiler iues or other elongated articles, and to thereby decrease or lessen the cost of the treatment of the fines.

I have herein shown my invention as applied to one practical form of machine for removing scale from boiler 'lues, but it will be understood that the essential features of the invention, and the combination of elements comprising said invention may be embodied in other forms of machines for this and analogous purposes,and that in applying the invention to other specific forms of machines the construction and the arrangement of the parts may be varied to suit the conditions of use in each instance.

As shown in said drawings,-Figure'1 is an end elevation, with parts in section, of a flue rattler embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation as seen from the line 2s-2 of Fig. 1.

The particular type of flue rattler herein shown is of that kind illustrated in the prior United States patents to Crosby, No. 779,468, and Adams, No. 822,035, such type of apparatus embracing a plurality of endless traveling suspending chains o-r elements, trained about suitable pulleys or sheaves to drive or give motion to the same, and arranged with their lower looped parts in a treating pit, in which looped portions of the suspending chains or elements the tubes to be treated are arranged in a bundle or group Speccation of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 13, 1911.

Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

Serial No. 602,369.

in such manner that the movement or travel of said chains imparts to the individual iiues of the group a rolling or tumbling movement one on the other, whereby the abrasive contact of the incrusted flues so grouped serve to wear away the scale or incrustation from the flues.

Referring now more specifically to the` drawings, 10, 10 designate the supporting chains or like ieXible elements, the lower looped portions of which extend into a pit 11, and are adapted to support a group or bundle 12 of flues, which may be submerged in liquid contained in the pit during the treating operation. Arranged above said pit is a supporting frame for said chains or other supporting elements. Said frame comprises the upright standards 14, arranged in pairs, with one pair at each side of the pit, the longitudinal members 15, and the transverse members 16 at the ends of the frame. The said transverse members 16 carry bearings 17, 17 in which are rotatively mounted horizontal shafts 18, 19 arranged longitudinally of the frame. Fixed to said shafts 18, 19 are sprocket or other pulleys 20,21, over which the endless supporting chains or carrying elements 10 are trained, the said chains being also trained about idler pulleys 22 arranged between and below the planes of the shafts 18, 19.

The carrying and supporting chains 10 may be driven through the medium of a driving shaft 24 suitably mounted at the top of t-he frame and rovided with a spur gear 25 adapted to mes with a gear wheel 26 fixed to the shaft 19. The said drive shaft 24 is provided with a belt pulley 27, through the medium of which power to drive the chain is transmitted from any suitable source of power, as from a motor supported on the machine frame.

The machine of the type described has been thus brieiiy sketchedl to indicate one practical form of device in which my invention may be embodied, and to indicate the general manner in which the iiues are grouped and are supported in grouped relation, and in which the individual incrusted fiues are rolled or tumbled in abrasive contact one on the other during the treating process so as to gradually wear away the incrustation or scale from the eX- terior of the flues. In the type of machine herein shown chains or other flexible supporting elements are driven in the direc-- tion indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, and the flues on that side of the group or bundle at which the chains are moved upwardly will tend to rise with the chains, while those at the other side of the group at which the chains are moving downwardly will tend to be carried or shifted downwardly. It will thus be seen that the upper or exposed side of the group of flues will assume or take the inclined position shown in Fig. 1. It will also be observed that the action of the moving chains on the flues, so supported and confined, serves to effect a rolling or tumbling movement of the flues upon each other throughout the mass or bundle of flues, the chains turning or rolling the flues with which they are in contact and the interior flues of the group being in turn rolled or sides t-hereof.

turned upon each other by the action of the outer rolling flues. Furthermore, by reason of such rolling or tumbling of the iues, the individual flues will shift from one part of the bundle or mass to another, so that the flues which at any given time occupy the interior of the bundle or group will at another time be located at the o-uter Thus in the continuous op eration of the machine each individual flue will be presented a number of times in a given interval of time to the upper inclined exposed side of the group or bundle.

At the upper exposed side of the bundle, or at any other part of the bundle in which the flues are exposed, I apply supplemental abrasive or percussive means, so constructed and arranged, and act-ing upon the flues in such manner as to disrupt or break up the scale on the flues at longitudinally separated or localized areas. The means herein shown for producing this result consists of the weights 30, 30 which rest and are loosely supported upon theupper inclined side of the group, and are anchored in place by means of the chains 31, 31, or other flexible elements, which may be attached in any suitable manner to a fixed or stationary part of the machine frame. As herein shown said chains extend upwardly and outwardly from the pit and are attached at their outer ends to a horizontal rotative shaft- 32 which is mounted in bearings 33, 33 carried by the standards 14, 14 at one side of the frame. The said weights 30 may be arranged in two sets, each set extending from end to end of the bundle of flues, with one set in advance of the other and with t-he weights of one set arranged in staggered or offset relation to those of the other set, as most clearly indicated in Fig. 2. Thus substantially thc entire length of the exposed sides of t-he flues may be subjected to such supplemental abrasive or percussive action of the weights, without bringing the weights sufliciently close together to interfere with each other and with their proper action on the flues.

The said weights 80, 30 may be made of any suitable shape, but preferably take a form which presents relatively sharp corners or angles for contact with the flues, such as is herein shown. The chains 31 or other holding elements serve to hold the said Weights 30 at substantially fixed positions relatively' to thev bundle or group of flues, while permitting the weights to yield upwardly away from the iues, and said chains limit the movement of the weights in the direction toward which they tend to move by reason of the movementv of the flues thereunder. The weights are, however, free to yield upwardly away from the flues, and

do thus yield away from said fines as the latter roll or tumble from an upper to a lower position on the inclined side of the group or bundle. Such rollingor tumbling of the tubes downwardly has the effect to present a constantly changing or uneven surface of the group of flues which pass beneath the weights or abrasive elements, and over which the latter drag. Therefore said weights or abrasive'elements not only drag upon the incrusted flues to produce a supplemental abrasive action thereon, but, by reason of the rise and fall of the weights due to the rolling of the flues down the inclined side of the group or bundle, the said weights strike the incrusted iiues with such force as to break or disrupt the scale at separate localized areas. This breaking up of the incrustation or scale, simultaneously' with the rolling or tumbling of the lues one upon the other in abrasive contact, vhas the effect to greatly hasten and facilitate the removal of the scale or incrustation from the flues and thereby reduce the cost of cleaning the fines. In some instances the weight of the chains or like flexible ele- Amay be sufficient to effect the supplemental abrasive or percussive action desired.

In order to conveniently remove or dis-` place said weights or other 'abrasive elements at a time when the bundle of flues is being removed from or introduced into the pit, the said chains may be wound upon the shaft 32 to bring the weights or the ends of the chains to the dotted line position indicated in Fig. 1. For this purpose the shaft 32 may beprovided with a gear wheel 35 adapted to engage a pinion 36 fixed on a stub shaft 37 having a crank 38 by which to rotate the same. Thus theshaft 33 may be rotated in a direction to wind the chains thereon and to draw the weights or free ends of the chains, as the case may be, from the bundle of tubes in the pit. Rotation of the shaft in the opposite direction to lock the weights in their withdrawn positions may be prevented by a pawl 40 on the frame adapted to engage a ratchet wheel 41 fixed to the shaft 32. When the apparatus is thus equipped it will desirably beprovided with an inclined plate 42 arranged at one side of the pit to guide the weights or the free ends of the chains in their upper, inoperative positions. When the weights are employed they A will be made sufficiently light so as not to impede the free rolling of the iiues from an upper to a lower position ztlt the inclined Lipper side of the bundle of ues.

The machine thus specically described constitutes a simple and practical mechanism for cleaning or removing the scale or coating from fines or like articles, but it will be understood that my invention is not limited to the structure disclosed, but contemplates any suitable means for supporting a bundle of fiues or the like with abrasive or percussive means acting on the external sides of the flues or like articles for the purpose of breaking or disrupting scale or coating at localized areas, preferably simultaneously with the rolling of the flues or the like upon their axes, or upon each other. The simultaneous rolling of the flues upon each other and the application of t-he locally effective supplemental abrasive or percussive means is recommended because it has proved exceedingly eficient and rapid in practice.

I claim as my invention 1. A flue rattler comprising means for supporting a group of incrusted flues and rolling or tumbling them upon each other in abrasive contact, and supplemental abrasive means having means for loosely connecting the same to a fixed part of the rattler, and applied to the exposed surfaces of the flues at separated points for disrupting or breaking the incrustation or scale at localized areas along the flues.

2. A i'iue rattler comprising means for supporting a group of iiues, with means for rolling the flues one upon the other in abrasive contact, Aand relatively stationary supplemental abrasive elements yieldingly supported upon the flues and adapted to drag thereover by relative movement of the flues and said elements.

A iiue rattler comprising means for supporting a group of flues, with means for rolling or tumbling them in abrasive contact, and arranged to progressively shift the individual flues from the interior to the exterior of the group and supplement-al abrasive means loosely supported on one side of the group of iiues to be dragged thereover by relative movement of the flues and supplemental abrasive means.

4. A iue rattler comprising means for supporting a group of flues, with means for rolling or tumbling them upon each other in abrasive contact, and arranged t0 shift, the individual flues from the interior to the exterior of the group, weights supported on one side of the group of flues, flexible holding means attached to said weights and to a fixed part of the machine frame for holding the weights in relatively fixed position, whereby said weights are dragged over the flues by relative movement of the flues and weights.

5. A liue rattler comprising supporting means for a group or bundle of incrusted flues, consisting of endless traveling flexible carriers having looped portions in which the group is sustained, whereby upon movement of the carriers the flues are rolled one upon the other in abrasive contact and supplemental abrasive elements loosely supportedv on an exposed side of the group to be dragged over the flues by relative movement of said group of flues and said supplemental abrasive elements.

6. A Hue rattler comprising means for supporting a group of flues, with means vfor rolling or tumbling them upon each other in abrasive contact, and arranged to shift the individual flues from the interior to the exterior of the group, supplemental abrasive elements supported on the group of flues with iexible means for anchoring them in place, whereby the abrasive ,f elements are dragged over the iiues by relative movement of the flues and elements and a rotative shaft to which the flexible anchoring means are attached and about which they are wound to withdraw the supplemental abrasive elements away from the group of lues.

7. In a machine for cleaning flues and the like, the combination with movable supporting means for the flues, of relatively stationary abrasive elements yieldingly supported upon the flues to contact therewith at separated points and adapted to drag thereover by relative movement of the supporting means and said elements, and means for giving relative movement to said supporting means and said elements.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 3rd day of January A. D. 1911.

EDWARD T.' HENDEE.

WILLIAM GOLDBERGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

